Zaraki's Secret
by CyberArcRotarr
Summary: Zaraki has a secret. What trouble will it cause for those that know, and who is already aware? One-shot for now. MAy change if I get more inspiration.


Zaraki's Secret

By: CyberArcRotarr\

This is a plot bunny that invaded my mind when I was thinking about Zaraki's Zanpakuto.

Disclaimer: I do not own, will not, could not own, and probably should not own, Bleach.

Author Note: This story takes place after the current conflict, under the assumption that no-one else dies, Aizen retreats after his Arrancar are beaten, and Soul Society manages to rescue those who had traveled to Hueco Mundo. All those who had been in Hueco Mundo are now staying in Soul Society.

Kenpachi may seem OOC at first, but it is explained in the end.

-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-

Zaraki Kenpachi was frowning.

That, in and of itself, was rather unusual. After all, Kenpachi was known for his jovial, 'I-can-crush-everyone-and-their-dog' attitude. The few times he was seen looking even unhappy was when there was no-one for him to fight. However, right now Kenpachi was knocking around approximately half of the Eleventh Division. Normally, Kenpachi would be laughing and telling them to stand up and 'face their deaths like men.' But now, he was frowning and appeared to be looking off in the distance.

Abruptly, Kenpachi swung his sword and a wave of force radiated out of the blade, hurtling all of the combatants into the walls of the training area, except for Kenpachi himself. "Alright, get cleaned up and go have fun. Yachiru…" Zaraki turned and began to walk away; ignoring the stunned stares of all of the men he had left lying around.

"Yay! Ken-chan." A pink blur leapt of a nearby building and landed on Kenpachi's back. A small pink-haired girl grinned at Kenpachi as she peered over his shoulder. "Where are we going? To find Baldy? To see Braid-lady? Oh, are we going to find Berry? That will be fun. Oh…"

"We're leaving." At these words, Yachiru's face lost its smile, yet another sign of something being very off.

"Leaving. But…are they ready?"

"Doesn't matter. We have been gone too long. We are needed. Ikkaku and Yumichika will stay here and help keep order."

Yachiru frowned. "They won't like that."

Kenpachi gave her a long look. "So, they will do it anyway."

Yachiru nodded, though it was obvious that she was still troubled, as Kenpachi sped towards the Division 1 Headquarters. There were a few good-byes he had to give.

-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-

Kenpachi arrived in front of the large double doors that led to the main meeting room. The General should have felt him coming. Kenpachi let a small grin show on his face, and pushed the doors open.

Yamamoto was waiting at the far end of the hall. At the sight of Kenpachi, he nodded and began to walk down the hall. Kenpachi met him halfway.

"I am leaving. I am needed."

"I know. I am glad you stayed as long as you did. Will you still be helping?"

"I don't know. It will depend on how you do here."

Yamamoto nodded. "I will keep it safe till you return. You are coming back, aren't you?"

Kenpachi sighed. "I don't know. I will visit, of course, but I think you best look for a new Captain."

Yamamoto nodded again. He had figured that it would come to this.

"Renji will probably be suitable. He will need more training, but for now…"

Kenpachi nodded. "Ikkaku will be helping, at least until this crisis is over. After that…it's up to him."

"He will follow you. He always does."

"Yeah."

The two stood there, looking at each other, before they both nodded and turned away. Yachiru grinned back at Yamamoto and waved. "Bye-bye, Beard-man." Yamamoto chuckled. He didn't stop until long after the door had closed, and a few tears slid down his beard.

"Good-bye, old friend. I doubt I will live to see you again."

-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-

Unohana, the Fourth Division Captain, had been filling out a few forms regarding Fourth Division Members providing support in the war, when the door to her office slid open. She had felt the individual approach, but didn't look up until they kneeled in front of her desk. She glanced up.

Kenpachi kneeled, staring down at his knees. His hands were lightly clenched, and Yachiru was missing from his shoulder. Unohana was about to speak, when Kenpachi beat her to it.

"I was surprised at how quickly you found out. I thought I had hidden it so well, but you saw right through it. Didn't take you two weeks after I had gotten the job."

Unohana smiled. "Well, your rate of healing gave me some indication. After all, healing that fast just isn't normal. I barely had to do anything the first time you stumbled in here."

Kenpachi looked up, a ghost of a smile on his face, but it was very faint. "I am leaving. I…I…" Kenpachi looked down again. "I need to be there. They need to be prepared. This war will affect them too, whether we like it or not, they will be dragged into it. I need to…"

A pair of soft hands came to rest on his. Kenpachi looked up slowly, letting his eyes follow up to meet the softly shining pair that was staring back at him. Unohana smiled as she kneeled in front of Kenpachi.

"I understand. Just promise me you will come back."

Kenpachi smiled, a softer smile than usually adorned his face. "As if I could stay away." He sighed. "I never thought, when I came here, that I would fall in love."

Unohana only nodded.

The two sat in silence for several minutes, before Kenpachi pulled away and stood.

"I need to get going, or I will never leave."

Unohana nodded and rose with him. Stepping forward quickly, she placed a small kiss on his cheek and stepped back again.

"Good luck."

Kenpachi nodded, then turned on his heel and left. Yachiru was waiting outside the door. She giggled and leapt up to rest on Kenpachi's shoulder. Kenpachi looked at her.

"You didn't need to wait out here." Kenpachi was struggling to keep his voice flat, but it seemed rougher than normal as he fought to keep hold of his emotions.

"You two needed to be alone."

Kenpachi snorted. "As if you didn't listen in."

Yachiru just smiled.

-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-

Kenpachi was walking towards Soryoku Hill, when a familiar orange-haired Shinigami stepped out of a corner in front of him. Kenpachi grinned.

"Ichigo! Just who I wanted to see." Kenpachi's voice was back to its usually gruff tone.

Ichigo spun and paled. Normally, he could feel Kenpachi coming a mile away, but now it was like he had appeared out of thin air.

"I…uh…I don't I time to fight, because…um…Rukia…uh…" Ichigo stammered to think of an excuse that would get him away from Zaraki before he decided to take out his blade.

"That's ok. I don't have time for a fight either, but we can have one when I get back." Ichigo paused at these words. He had never known Kenpachi to just let him go without challenging him. And what had he said about…

"What do you mean, 'When you get back.'? All Shinigami are supposed to be staying in Soul Society." Ichigo looked at Kenpachi suspiciously. Was this some sort of trick?

Kenpachi grinned. "Yep. But see, I ain't exactly just a Shinigami."

Ichigo reached for his blade. "Not just a Shinigami? Then what…" Was Kenpachi a Vizard? Before Ichigo could touch his blade, a wave of familiar Reiatsu burst out from Kenpachi, though it was as strong as if he hadn't been wearing his eyepatch, which Ichigo noted was beginning to smoke.

"Nope. Actually, I am…" A pillar of light shot up from around Kenpachi, blocking off the next part of his sentence. The beam shot up, disappearing into the clouds. Ichigo turned away as the ground splintered and the light grew blinding. All at once, the lightshow stopped. Ichigo slowly brought his hands down and gaped at what he saw.

Kenpachi had changed. Where before he had been wearing his tattered Captain's haori, now he was wearing a set of regal looking red, blue, and yellow robes, which made him look almost as regal as Byakuya Kuchiki. But it wasn't the change in dress that made Ichigo gape.

Kenpachi's face, scarred from battle, was now perfectly smooth. The mad look in his eyes was replaced by amusement,a nd his eyepatch seemed to have burned off. Given the barely restrained power Ichigo felt, he could see why. His hair now lay back, and he gave a jovial smile at Ichigo, holding up the blade in his hand.

Ichigo barely recognized it. The blade was smooth and shiny. The grip now looked more normal, if rather ornate. Ichigo glanced around, wondering how Yachiru would have changed, when he noticed something.

A light pink mist flowed out from around the blade and settled on the ground, before resolving into the familiar form of Yachiru. She was dressed as she normally was, and spread her hands wide after fully reforming.

"Ta-da."

Ichigo stared at them both, dumbstruck. He heard more than felt many people running towards them, but didn't turn to look away from the newly changed Kenpachi. Kenpachi chuckled at Ichigo's expression.

"Enma Kenpachi, and Tenhoukou, at your service. Or should I say you are at mine?"

Ichigo shook his head. "What do you mean, 'at mine'?" Meanwhile, whispers had broken out among the crowd that was gathered.

"Tenhoukou! Isn't that…"

"Yeah, didn't you hear him say Enma?"

"Wasn't that Kenpachi?"

"Is this a joke?"

Kenpachi grinned. "Well, considering the fact that all Shinigami are sworn to follow the King of Heaven…"

Ichigo's eyes widened at the impact of that statement. Kenpachi's grin widened.

"Yeah, you got it. I am the Emperor of Soul Society, the very King of Heaven. Nice to meetcha."

Ichigo fainted.

-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-%-

And there you go. I may write a bit more, but that is the gist of my idea. Anyone wants to run with it, feel free to do so.

Review if you liked, flame if you don't, just careful you don't burn up my mailbox.


End file.
